Tensions in the northern part of Republic of Kosovo escalated with a violent attack on the Kosovo police, by masked and well-armed Serbian extremists on September 24. Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, blamed Serbia for the attack. Serbia has denied this, but amassed large troops at the border with Kosovo, triggering warnings from US and EU. In the meantime, the controversial Kosovo Serb businessman and political extremist, Milan Radoicic, took full responsibilityfor the attack. Serbian army was reportedly pulled out of the border area.
We discussed about the security incident in Zvecani Kosovo with Ferdinand Nikolla, peace and security expert from Prishtina, former Political Advisor of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Republic of Kosovo. Currently, he leads the Institute for Peace and Security (IPS) in Pristina.
On Sunday, September 24, in a monastery in Zvecani, Kosovo, an armed group of Serbian extremists exchanged heavy fire with the Kosovo special police. One police officer is killed and three wounded, three attackers were killed, and about a dozen arrested.
This interview was recorded one day later (September 25), and sheds light on the event itself, but also on the situation in a broader context.
CIVIL MEDIA: What is your comment on the latest security incident in Kosova? What actually happened?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: Hello Mr. Deralla, and hello to everyone watching CIVIL MEDIA. It is my pleasure to be your guest today. You have summarized very accurately and rightly, in your sentence what happened yesterday, and yesterday was a very alarming day for Kosovo. A terrorist group attacked Kosovo police and as a consequence, as you also mentioned, a police officer was killed.
This attack comes at the time of continuous tension in the north of Kosovo, and also continuous tension between Kosovo and Serbia, where, as you know, Kosovo and Serbia are parties in the negotiations, in the dialogue, but yet what happened yesterday was unprecedented. Attack against the security, against the Kosovo institutions and yesterday’s developments were serious, because the fighting continued, as we all know. This is for now; this is like let’s say this is the summary of what happened. But I think what is interesting are the elements, if we try to decouple a little bit more, the situation, I’m sure you’ll have other questions to follow on that.
CIVIL MEDIA: Absolutely, yes, indeed. I think it’s self-understanding to ask about your assessment of the Kosovo police and of course the one of the international mission of KFOR. What is your assessment of their reaction? How the whole operation executed? What are the main take-outs from this operation?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: I think, on the first point – we have seen, yesterday – they were members of a terrorist group. They were very heavily armed. They had all the equipment and the logistics to commit serious terrorist attack, which they committed. But thanks to the swift response from the Kosovo police, the attack, let’s say, was not fully completed because what we can tell from how this was planned and how it was executed, we could have seen even more casualties.
So, thanks to the response, swift response, by the Kosovo police, this attack was stopped. The operation was stopped, yes, with victims, of course. But it was stopped, and I think it is important to emphasize – the coordination also with KFOR and with EULEX was done effectively.
We know that Kosovo police is ready and capable of providing safety and security in the north, of defending and protecting territorial integrity. And this was also demonstrated in yesterday’s response by the Kosovo police. And it does send serious message to the criminal groups and organizations in the north, operating in the north, and coming potentially from Serbia, that this is what they will face.
They will face a response, a strong response from the Kosovo police and those acts will not be tolerated.
CIVIL MEDIA: We also heard Serbian President Vucic, who said – this was a Serbian people response to the terror they experience in Kosovo. What do you think about this?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: I think that it’s important to go one step back and read some statements from President Vucic. In the past, he was kind of foreseeing such tensions and attack in some of his statements. He was constantly sending messages that in the north there might be an escalation, there might be conflict.
And the other fact is that these attackers have arrived and have entered Kosovo territory from Serbia. One could ask – how come… None of this was surveilled, none of this was stopped, none of this was monitored by the Serbian side.
So, this really shows how the information, the propaganda that he is using now, is absolutely a propaganda, it’s not true. Basically they didn’t play at all a constructive role, but instilled and actually backed this operation.
CIVIL MEDIA: Well, of course, on the other side, there are accusations on the account of the Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti, who, according to the other side, is provoking this kind of situations. And of course, this war of words will go on, I believe. Do you have any recommendation maybe, what the Kosovo government could have done, or maybe Prime Minister Kurti could have done to prevent this kind of developments?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: It is a well-known fact that the dialogue is not going very well. There are huge challenges in Brussels, despite the calls from the international community, from the EU and the US for the parties to sit and find durable and sustainable solutions. So, I think, yes, in this regard definitely Prime Minister of Kosovo, Prime Minister Kurti and President Vucic, have the ultimate responsibility to find an everlasting solution for the tensions both in the north and between Kosovo and Serbia.
The international community has been determined, and has been very seriously calling for the parties to show more readiness for the implementation of the agreements, for the Franco-German plan. Yes, in that regard, I expect, and my recommendation would be, yes, for the leaders to sit and find a solution so that we don’t have more situations like this, more victims in the future.
And it is in their responsibilities to really find the will and find the courage to sit and pave a new way, pave a new picture, not only for the people living in Kosovo and Serbia, but also a more prosperous future for the Balkans.
I think that international community here can also play a greater role, because in the sense of showing greater prospects of the Euro-Atlantic integrations, the Western Balkans have to prosper, much faster and with more solid steps in that Euro-integration agenda, because separately and, being in the margins of Europe, this is what you can expect from the Balkans.
CIVIL MEDIA: Yes, thank you and let’s hope for the leaders to hear these recommendations. However, back to the situation in Kosova, some reports say that the Wagner mercenary group is involved in [24 September] yesterday’s attack. What do we know so far about the Wagner group involvement in Kosovo in general, or in yesterday’s incident?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: It’s important to emphasize that the north of Kosovo, the northern municipalities, have always been like a shelter for criminal gangs and terrorist groups. You know the Kosovo government has declared Nacionalna zastita for terrorist organizations this year. And there are steps to ensure sovereignty and control of the northern part.
But, making sure that they are creating a safe and secure environment for citizens, and this I think was a problem for years, for the groups, all groups and criminal groups that are involved in organized crime, in corruption, to accept such an approach from the Kosovo government and Kosovo institutions. And this is where the tension continues to rise.
As for the Wagner, we know that the police have arrested three of the gunmen, sorry, has killed and arrested three of them, six of them sorry. And we have to see what the investigations have to show us about the specific question you asked, and whether there was involvement of Wagner group, or Wagner supporters, or mercenaries.
What we know for sure is that the operation had lot of characteristics of how mercenary groups operate. One of them being Wagner. So, this we know, but for the information we have to wait a little bit more to speak more accurately about the potential involvement of Wagner terrorist group in this particular case.
CIVIL MEDIA: Well, we saw the message of Radomir Pocuca, who has been involved in the war in Ukraine, on the Russian side, who after the news that he was killed in the action, he popped out with a video saying he’s alive and so on. We’ve seen many other symptoms of the involvement, not only of Wagner group in the field, but also the serious involvement of Russia, of Kremlin in the affairs between Kosovo and Serbia. What is your assessment of the Russian involvement in this particular incident or in the wider context in the Kosovo-Serbian relations?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: Well, we know that Serbia is the strongest ally of Russia, and not only in the Balkans, but in Europe, and it continues to be so. It is the only country that hasn’t introduced sanctions against Russia. So, there is an open channel of communication, of collaboration. Kosovo institutions have faced difficulties in the north for many years because of the presence of illegal groups, criminal groups, organized crime and members of different terrorist organizations.
So, this is why I think the approach and the dynamic with which the Kosovo institutions are working in the north, shows that they are increasing their presence, they are increasing their vigilance, and they are showing greater commitment to control and to making sure that the north doesn’t become a hub for criminal and terrorist organizations, including Wagner. Russian influence in the north has always been, how to say, obvious.
We’ve had the last year even high officials from the Russian Embassy coming closer to the border with Kosovo and encouraging the soldiers and the police from the Serbian side to escalate the situation, which was intense anyways. So, we do know, we do understand the very dangerous role that Russia plays in this regard in this game.
CIVIL MEDIA: Back to the incident, we’ve seen that the armed group has been using the monastery Bansko in Zvecani. What is the involvement of the Serbian Church in this matter, in this incident? What is the role of this monument, so to speak, and as well as a venue where Serbia Church has its people? What was this?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: I can say that, in this particular case, it is unfortunate that terrorists used the monastery, barricaded themselves within it. They were shooting at police from there or from the surroundings of the monastery. The monastery in this case was used as a shelter from these gunmen.
One dimension, I think, is important there – this could have very easily escalated even more, because, I believe, the way that this was planned, was to create another provocation, very heavy provocation and show an image to the world that Kosovo police is attacking a monastery. And this could have triggered more violence.
I mean, very easily local Serbs could have mobilized themselves and say – OK we want to protect the monastery. But thanks to the professionalism from the police and international allies that have intervened in this case that another major violent event was prevented.
As for the involvement, I think we know and there are still statements, including the most recent one from the British MP who alleged that the monastery is being used for storing weapons. But this has to be further investigated and I think we have to see what is the proof there.
But again, in this particular case I can surely say that the monastery was used, it was misused, and it was unfortunate for the monastery and for the pilgrims, who weredoing the services there at that particular time.
CIVIL MEDIA: So, the Serbian church officially doesn’t have to do anything with this operation of storing weapons and ammunition and equipment there? It’s just an abuse of the armed group that used the monastery also in a political sense? No Serbian Church, Orthodox Church involvement in this particular case?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: So far, and I am speaking here what I can read from the official news and the statements from the ministry, from the police, so, I haven’t seen any evidence that does infiltrate church in this particular case, and I am reading only the facts that that are circulating as we speak.
CIVIL MEDIA: Mr. Nicola, final question. What is to be done in this matter?
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: So, I mean from the Kosovo police perspective, I think they should continue to fully operate and establish sovereignty in the north of Kosovo. That has to be safety and an order for all citizens living in the north. They have to be more vigilant and prepare to react should similar situations be repeated.
The international community must warn Serbia and should introduce sanctions for seriously violating the territorial sovereignty of Kosovo in this case.
And on the last point, which connects again to the point we started this conversation, there is no other way, but finding a durable, a sustainable solution for safety between Kosovo and Serbia.
The parties should resume the talks, and create a new perspective for the people. It’s important now to have readiness from Serbia to act and those criminals have to be brought to justice, those that are in Kosovo. But also we understand that there are others who escaped and are currently on the territory of Serbia.
So, they have to play their part and show and demonstrate that they are not, let’s say, backing such criminal and and terrorist acts in Kosovo. People have to live without fear. And it’s important to emphasize that there is tension in the north, people are scared, people are afraid. And again, Serbia has a major role to play in preventing and withholding themselves from incidents, like this one that happened yesterday in Kosovo.
CIVIL MEDIA: Mr. Ferdinand Nicola, expert in peace and security, from the Institute of Peace and Security, Prishtina. Thank you very much for this interview.
FERDINAND NIKOLLA: Mr. Derala, it was a pleasure. Thank you for having me on. All the best.
Interview by: Xhabir Deralla, editor-in-chief of CIVIL’s media platform
Camera, photo, video-editing by: Arian Mehmeti
